Nikolaj Ehlers got his 1st win against the Jets on Friday night, as the Hurricanes defeated the Jets in a close 4-3 game. Canada Life Centre was the host for this afternoon’s game, the third and final home game for the Jets before they hit the road for five straight games. The 12-8-0 Jets took on the 11-7-4 Minnesota Wild, with these two teams separated by just two points at the quarter season mark. The Wild had a below average start to the season, but they entered tonight’s game on a 4 game win streak.

There was one small lineup change for the Jets this afternoon, as they went with almost the same combinations that they used on Friday. The four forward lines remained unchanged, and the Jets defence pairings remained the same except for Colin Miller taking Luke Schenn’s place on the 3rd pairing with Logan Stanley. Eric Comrie got the start in goal, his 2nd start in a row since the Jets announced that Hellebuyck will be out for 4-6 weeks. Comrie entered tonight’s game with a 4-2-0 record, a 2.84 GAA and a .899 SV%. Tonight wasn’t the Jets best game, and it unfortunately would end in defeat on this Sunday afternoon.

Tonight’s game started off a little slower paced, perhaps since it was a Sunday afternoon game. Chances started to pick up, and at the 7:32 mark Yakov Trenin was called for hooking on Logan Stanley. The Jets couldn’t generate much on this powerplay, and the game remained scoreless. Teams traded chances for the rest of the 1st period, but neither team found the back of the net.

Shots on goal after 20 minutes of play were 9-7 Jets. A few stats that jumped out were the hits, with the Wild heavily out hitting the Jets 14-3. The Wild also out blocked the Jets, leading 10-3 in blocked shots, indicating that the Jets had overall more chances than the Wild in the 1st.

The energy picked up in the 2nd period, with both teams generating chances as they looked for the 1st goal of the game. Although the Jets had more chances near the halfway point of the game, it was the Wild that opened the scoring. Yakov Trenin won a puck battle along the boards before making a nice pass in front to Danila Yurov, who snapped one past Comrie to open the scoring.

Less than two minutes later, Jets Captain Adam Lowry dropped the gloves with Marcus Foligno. The number 17s had a spirited tilt which was pretty even, as Lowry tried to get his team going this afternoon. Unfortunately, the Jets couldn’t gain any momentum from this fight, and the game stayed 1-0.

Five minutes later, Dylan DeMelo was called for interference on Matt Boldy. The Wild powerplay was cut short after Kirill Kaprizov took a holding call on Adam Lowry. With less than two minutes to play in the 2nd, the Wild started a rush after a Jets chance on the powerplay. Marcus Johansson made a drop pass back to Brock Faber on the rush, and his wrist shot was fired perfectly past Comrie to make it 2-0 Wild.

That goal definitely took the energy out of the Jets crowd, and after 40 minutes of play, the Wild still had a 2-0 lead. Shots on goal were an even 13-13 in the 2nd, but the Jets couldn’t find a way to get one past Jesper Wallstedt, who’s been a roll lately, as he continues to share the net with Filip Gustavsson.

The Jets got a very early powerplay to start the 3rd, as Matt Boldy was called for high-sticking just 6 seconds into the 3rd. Once again the Jets powerplay couldn’t find a way to get the Jets on the board, and about 4 minutes later the Wild would make it 3-0. After a failed clearing attempt by the Jets, Matt Zuccarello and Jacob Middleton set up Kirill Kaprisov in front, and he fired a wrist shot up and over Comrie’s shoulder.

The Jets just couldn’t seem to score this afternoon, and suddenly they found themselves down 3-0 with not much time remaining. A few minutes later the two teams took roughing penalties, and two minutes later the Jets got another powerplay, but once again they weren’t able to solve Wallstedt. With 6 minutes to play, the Jets were outshooting the Wild 32-26, but the Wild continued to hold a three goal lead.

At this point it didn’t seem like the Jets would score, and that was the case, as Wallstedt shut the door to secure the shutout. The Jets didn’t get any shots on goal in the final 6 minutes, and the Wild secured a 3-0 win at Canada Life Centre. Neal Pionk left the game in the 3rd period with a lower body injury, and the Jets confirmed he wouldn’t return for the rest of the game. Final shots on goal were 32-29 for the Jets, but Wallstedt was the 1st star tonight, earning a 32 save shutout. The season series between these two teams is now tied at 1, and these two teams will next play at Canada Life Centre on December 27th.

With the Jets three game home stand now complete, the Jets regular season schedule continues with five straight on the road, beginning with a game on Wednesday against the Washington Capitals. Puck drop for this game will be just after 6:00 pm CT. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for all of the latest Jets news, plus previews and recaps on each Jets game this season.